Top 73 Spine Tattoo Ideas – [2020 Inspiration Guide]

Spinal tattoos are increasingly visible tattoo choices. Script tattoos and Chinese letter body art flowing down the spinal column are popular, while realistic tattoos of the spine placed into different areas are also used often.

Other popular tattoo choices on the spinal column include traditional tribal spine tattoos, and more contemporary takes on tribal body art.  

There has been a massive increase in the use of dark surrealism tattoo art and biomechanical techniques that fuse realistic spine tattoo perspectives with wild use of machinery such as levers, cogs, pistons, and leads.  

Read on to check out 73 different superb displays of spinal cord tattoo and spine tattoo depictions.

1. Lunar Themed Spine Tattoo Design 

These circular patterns in different shades of blue mimics the interlocking pattern of the spine. This minimalist design of these geometrical shapes complements his arm piece in terms of color and content.

The examples above use the spine to craft lunar symbols coursing along the curve of each back tattoo. They differ slightly in the manner of deployment. One opts for a more abstract use of circular images, while the second aims for black and gray moon descriptions with more detail. The final option looks at delivering the phases of the moon with black ink and negative space. 

2. Chinese Letter Ink and Asian Quote Tattoo Designs 

This is a cool spine tattoo concept if you are a fan of adding scripts into your collection of tattoos. This specific design maximizes the use of the negative space and a variation of realism style of tattooing. These characters look like they have been scorched into the skin. These characters loosely mean, everybody dies.

Chinese name of their zodiac animal is a cool concept for a spine tattoo especially if this is a tribute piece for your roots or simply because of a strong affiliation to the rich and ancient Chinese culture. The symbolic meaning of the chosen zodiac characters is personal according to the preference of the owner or the story he wants to share. Like in this tattoo wherein several were chosen: tiger, ram, ox, rabbit and ox. It could be the animal zodiac signs of his entire family or entirely ornamental. These tattoos can be enhanced further by adding details to its aesthetic value like in this case wherein the characters were given a three-dimensional design.

Less is definitely more. These delicate Chinese characters enhance the aesthetic appeal of this gentleman’s back. The design is minimalist, rendered in black ink and definitely one of a kind, since this is something that the owner can customize for him.

No singular realm of male anatomy can prosper more from a Chinese letter tattoo than the spine. The capacity for comprehensive customization for a tattoo quote is unending. This is the region that receives more artistic innovations than any other, and the flow of characters in Asian calligraphy allow for some great flow to the design.

3. Spine Tattoo on the Entire Spine 

This spine tattoo is minimalist in design and rendition of these thirty-three interlocking bones. It is in black and gray illustration with thick outlines and delicately shaded.

A black and gray tattoo of two sacred geometrical patterns linked by the vertebrae in negative space. The outlines of the interlocking bones are shaded to create depth and dimension. The spherical geometrical is stylized into a spider web, while it has a different function because of its nature, symbolically the interlocking patterns of the web mimics that of the spine, which suggests unity and we are created to be interdependent of one another.

Quite a few savvy individuals have inked an actual skeletal replica of the spinal column matching the bones underneath. It takes great skill and concentration for a tattoo artist to do this effectively, but when they are executed with skill the spine design can be quite arresting.

4. Dark Surrealism Spine Tattooing

This is a biomechanical piece of a spine which definitely does not look human. This reptilian creature has taken over the entire back of this human canvas, altering the organic make-up of his body, replacing it with this enormous spinal structure in layers of multi-dimensional creation.

This is a biomechanical tattoo on the neck, drawn freehand and customized according to the artists creative interpretation of the agreed concept. It has to be customized for biomechanical style of tattooing because every body structure is unique and the full and completed design most often is a result of an inspiration during the session.

The visual magnetism of the dark surrealism tattoo lovers and wider art movement is interesting. At times you can’t look at these dark art tattoos without flinching, but once your vision is locked you can’t look away either, such is their magnetic allure. Dark surrealism, the sub-genre pioneered by Master Tattoo Artist Paul Booth, makes for exciting spine tattoo art.

5. Biomechanical Spine Tattoos

This is very impressive spine tattoo for men in terms of composition, technique and style. This has the scientific-fiction genre with robotic element and alien creature feel like the Transformers like a portion of the body can be replaced by mechanical pieces to enhance it in terms of usage and strength. The vibrant and brilliant color palette is absolutely a smart choice for these set of metals and wires. The neutral warm of purple and red brighten the metallic blue with the neutral shades of brown.

This is a biomechanical full back tattoo in metallic black and gray It is like stepping into a different world where robots exist and the humans don’t. The artist was able to create a new musculature for the whole back and transformed it into a mechanical piece with its organic parts and pieces.

There are no rules for adding such visual magnetism to the spine’s columns, so the best way to yield a fashionable exterior is through artistic experimentation. You can’t experiment much more from a spinal tattoo perspective than through fusing machine and human in biomechanical application. These are bad ass examples looking to use both color or black and gray shade to create killer body art. 

6. Realistic Spine Design Ideas

To seriously intensify your ink schemes, one of the most popular routes is the interconnected spine tattoo. Individuals are finally using body art to bring out the full potential of their back’s physique by turning it into a full-scale canvas.

7. Unique Spine Tattoo Design

 

These spinal tattoo examples show off the variety you often find within a spine tattoo idea. These unique designs offer something, whether it’s gallows humor (literally), a zipper, or brilliant collection of blacked in dots and circles for each back tattoo.

8. Animal Themed Spine Body Art

A black and gray piece of a male spine tattoos of sharks in different sizes. The flow of the swimming sharks makes it a believable underwater scene. This tattoo is executed in classic black ink and highly saturated for longevity of the inkwork.

Animal tattoo designs rival flower tattoos for popularity, but for spine tattoos there’s more limit to designs which look good along the spinal column. I love the use of the black ink sharks to create depth, and the elegant curves give the sense of movement (I bet more so when the body is in action).

9. Script and Numeral Spine Tattoo Design

“With a bond as strong as right itself and as lasting as humanity”, a moving set of words which is appropriate tribute for the spine, literally and figuratively. The challenge at times for script tattoos is the cognition of the content. So, the wearer should make sure that the texts are readable not unless the owner wants it differently. 

Script, numeral and quote tattoo designs are most common for the spinal chord. A message – large, small, simple, or detailed – can be conveyed in a range of detailed styles along this part of the human body to great effect, whether it’s a benediction, symbol or simple list of names.

10. Wings and Spine Tattoo Art

Wings – fully furled or folded back, bony or full feathered – can be cool tattoos for a skilled artist to play with. These examples are wicked, and obviously not just for angelic types!

11. Tree and Spine Tattoo Art 

I love the simplicity of these tree related tattoo ideas. They use black ink and the spine’s natural curve to create cool tattoo inspiration. It also shows that if a spine placement doesn’t quite fit, then a new tattoo featuring the elegant curve of tree roots and branches they can be developed in a different spot.

12. Tattoos of the Spinal Column

A dark piece of the skull with its spine done in realism style of tattooing. It is in high definition and the ink is deeply saturated. The black background, illustrated as the shadow of the whole piece adds depth. The bones are well detailed with extra fine lines for the outline then shaded in different tones of gray. Every bone is shaded differently to show the varying levels of decay.

This spine tattoo inked on the lower leg is a cool concept to explore. The skull details are creepy tight with the hallowed eyes darkly shaded for a more sunken effect while the negative space of the widely gaping mouth adds symmetrical balance to the skull and its placement. The curve of the spine adds amazing perspective and looks realistic.

This tattoo is a simple illustration of a broken spines done in black and gray. It has been drawn to fully fit the forearm, outlined in black ink with a dark background which creates a perfect contrast for the skeletal drawing. 

The spine itself is not the lone subject used to make a beautiful tattoo. A lot of people look to incorporate tattoos using spinal themes into art placed in other areas, especially for a small spine tattoo.

The spine, skull, and linked bones or muscle create a great template for artistic expansion, which you can see above in the examples. The small spine tattoo designs utilize a range of application techniques to round out an idea.

13. Tribal Tattoo Design  

A Polynesian inspired tribal spine for this warrior, custom made in design since every story is unique, same as the tattoo. This piece is divided in four segments: new beginnings, bravery and strength, homage to the ancestors and protection. The shading of the black ink is consistent throughout the whole piece, from top to bottom. The patterns are intricately drawn and consistent in spacing, the interchanging use of black and negative space whether as background or for the filling in of the patterns feels like an energetic tribal dance.

A spine tattoo of a simple tribal design shaped like a tail of a fish. The horizontal lines represent the tribes how they are connected as a unit, as a people, as a family. This patten symbolizes unity.

These traditional tribal tattoo design ideas incorporate complex cultural symbolism into often simple ideas as rites of passage or links to family and tribe. These examples offer a range of hidden tattoos from a variety of cultures including Celtic, Polynesian, Hawaiian, and Maori. Some of them also go old school, opting for the chisel and small hammer rather than tattoo needle.

14. Spine Linework Ideas 

It’s interesting how different linework tattoos look when changing up tattoo placement. The two spinal tattoo designs – the realistic bonework, and the tribal Eagle – both look unfinished. It’s likely they’ll be filled in or accentuated in some way. The other piece is a pretty cool abstract spinal side tattoos interpretation that stands out because it’s unique.

15. Neo Tribal Spine Tattoo

A gorgeous black and gray piece of the all-seeing eye adorned with sacred geometrical shapes and pattern. The all-seeing eye also symbolizes awareness. The symbol shows that the owner is always aware of his or her surroundings and never has his or her guard down. When using this meaning, people will often give their eyes a more open and alert look to make that meaning come through a bit better.

There are no rules for adding such visual magnetism to the spine’s columns, so the best way to yield a fashionable exterior is through artistic experimentation. For example, spiritually attuned tattoo lovers may explore the possibilities of adding their chakras.  

I love the use of progressive ideas to build on the tenets of more traditional approaches to tribal tattoo art. As Eastern methodologies such as yoga, meditation, and even Buddhist doctrines have increased in the West, so to have cool ideas such as lotus flower and mandala tattoo design. When traced down the spine, a flower tattoo or mandala can be a beautiful tattoo.

Spine Tattoo FAQ 

Do Spine Tattoos Hurt? 

In a word, yes! As far as tattoo pain goes the spine is right up there because there’s a lack or muscle and flesh, and lots of bony knobs and nerved located just under the skin of the spinal column. Also, it’s important that if you have –or have previously had – spinal issues or serious back pain that these have been considered before committing to getting a new tattoo. 

How long does a spine tattoo take? 

An intricate spine tattoo can take around 6-8 hours to finish, and that’s dependent on your capacity for long periods of discomfort. 

A smaller spine tattoo idea that also incorporates the flesh of the back also takes a long time, but because of the comparative ease for the tattoo artist they seem to go more quickly.